SOAS - Korean Department

yongsagisa's picture
 Written by yongsagisa
on 12th March 2007

Average Score: 8/10

Location: London, England
Website: www.soas.ac.uk
Telephone: Tel: +44 (0)20 7637 2388
Address: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG

Scores (out of 10):

Teaching Quality: 7 Quality of Materials: 7
Friendliness: 9 Cost: 9

Language Learnt: Korean

Review: I've majored in Korean Studies at SOAS together with Ben, though we had different interests. As for me, my interest is not so much the language only as the culture in its entirety. In that respect, I'm afraid I have to give the Korean department at SOAS a mixed rating.  

I don't think you'll find a better place to study Korean than SOAS, at least not in Europe. SOAS also beats its partner university in Korea in that respect.

If you are into pre-modern Korean history, SOAS might well be your place, too. And if you are into Korean literature, well, then you are in luck. Grace Koh is probably the most committed lecturer you can have, and it's great to have a teacher who is so enthusiastic about her own area of expertise.

I don't want to dis those that are into history, quite like it myself, but if you are also interested in political or economical aspects of contemporary Korea, or if you take an interest in Korean movies, you will find that SOAS offers close to nothing for undergraduates, unlike in the Japanese department for example. I cannot judge, however, if the partner university of SOAS (Birkbeck) offers any economy or management classes with relation to Korea.

So, by and large SOAS is a very good address to study Korean, but I would recommend you to do a joint degree, combining Korean Studies with another language or one of the many popular tracks at SOAS, such as development studies or politics.


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